RESEARCH ARTICLE
‘I asked myself why I was having this difficult child’: Care Burden Experiences of Black African Mothers Raising A Child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder
A.G. Lentoor1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2023Volume: 16
E-location ID: e187494452306234
Publisher ID: e187494452306234
DOI: 10.2174/18749445-v16-230726-2023-25
Article History:
Received Date: 24/01/2023Revision Received Date: 06/06/2023
Acceptance Date: 06/06/2023
Electronic publication date: 08/08/2023
Collection year: 2023
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
There is increasing recognition that raising a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is stressful and challenging, particularly for mothers in resource-constrained countries. The aim of this study was to learn more about the experiences of black African mothers raising children with ASD and to gain a better understanding of the care burden.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine purposively recruited mothers of children with ASD and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Results:
The findings revealed that caring for children with ASD puts a tremendous psychological, emotional, and financial strain on mothers. Mothers commonly faced social judgment and stigma, which manifested as internalized self-blame, isolation, and social exclusion for both themselves and their children.
Conclusion:
The findings highlight the critical need to increase psychosocial support for mothers of children with ASD who live in resource-constrained countries.
